


Sick leave

by litra



Series: Dragons and Farm Boys [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dragon Gabriel, Fluff, Gabriel is a terrible flirt, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, sacrifice Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4048213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam was supposed to be sacrificed to the local dragon. The dragon wasn’t supposed to get sick, and Sam definitely wasn’t supposed to feed him chicken soup.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was beta'd by Valeada, to whom I owe a huge Thank You. Any remaining mistakes are mine.

 

The dragon was late.

Sam had been waiting, chained to this rock for what… four hours now? Five? It was kind of hard to tell with the clouds that couldn’t seem to make up their mind if they wanted to rain, drizzle, give off some kind of downward drifting mist or just sit there looking grumpy. He had been slowly soaked, on and off for however many hours it had been. This was his best tunic too, and now it was probably completely ruined.

The only upside was the bonfire. He may be getting smoke in his lungs every few minutes but at least he wasn’t cold as well as wet. It wasn’t like he’d be alive long enough to get a cold or anything.

Seriously, where was the dragon already?

Getting chosen as the sacrifice had been terrifying, even if he had known it was coming. The traditions on who would be chosen were clear: Under twenty, but over fourteen, unmarried and without any major illness. The previous winter the pox had swept through, making almost anyone else unqualified. It was only him and Claire. There was no way he was going to let his brother’s adopted daughter face possible death when he was still nineteen and healthy, so he’d quietly volunteered.

It was said that the dragon could look into your soul and see your deepest fears and desires. They’d been lucky for the last few years; most of the sacrifices had been allowed to return, but in the back of their minds everyone remembered the four years where the sacrifices had just vanished, never to be heard from again.

Sam had been stoic in his duty to the village, letting himself be led away. Dean hadn’t been there; he’d had to get drunk off his ass just to let it happen. He’d waited until he was sure everyone was gone before he let himself start shaking. It was happening. That little voice that had kept him going for the past few months, all the ‘you don’t have to’s and the ‘you can change your mind’s were gone. It was just him and the bonfire out on top of the hill as the clouds slowly rolled in.

Then he’d waited. Fear had given way to cold and boredom and eventually made it’s way to irritation. The sky slowly darkened. The firewood settled down, sending up sparks. The rain started, then stopped briefly then started up again a little heavier. Sam’s back started going stiff and the rust from the shackles was rubbing off on his wrists.  If the dragon didn’t show up soon Sam was going to pick the lock on the ancient shackles and go home.

There was a low rumble from overhead and a gust of wind made the low flames on the bonfire flicker. The sky started to drip again. Great, if that kept up he’d lose his last bit of comfort. If that happened he really was going to leave, dragon or no dragon.

The smoke billowed up, and Sam was distracted from his thoughts by a loud string of wracking coughs.  

“Umm, hello?” Sam slowly drew out the words.

No one was supposed to be around because, well, dragon. Had they realized he was still out here and come to say he could go home? His hope took a nosedive as a second thought struck him. Had Dean snuck out here to try some sort of rescue? Dear god he hoped not. Last time someone had tried that three pastures had been burnt to a crisp and the only creature to come back alive was the horse. Dean was lucky, but not that lucky.

The man who stumbled around the rock and paused to slump to the ground wasn’t what he had expected. He had gold hair, on the longish side, though not as long as Sams. His clothing had probably been nice at the start of the day, but now there was mud coating one side of him and he was even wetter than Sam.

Then there was the tail wrapped around his waist and the slightly droopy set of wings.

They were, well, they were something. They looked like they were made of leather but with extra long plate-like scales supporting the joints, and bones more like a fan then the bat-wings he’d always imagined.

Sam tried to wrap his head around the dragon being shorter than him. He’d known that the dragon could take a human form, everyone knew that, but he’d always imagined a tall imposing figure who even Sam would have to look up to, possibly in armor or bedecked in the wealth of kingdoms.

The dragon sneezed, adding another burst of smoke to the air, then started shivering before scootching slightly closer to the fire.

Sam waited for the dragon to say something but he seemed kind of out of it to be honest. Eventually Sam cleared his throat. “Hey, are you alright?” His voice came out more concerned then it probably should have, considering who he was talking to.

The dragon looked up and wow, those were some amazing eyes, even slightly glazed over they glowed like the setting sun, gold and glittering. Actually the dragon would probably be really hot if he wasn’t so bedraggled and clearly sick, no pun intended.

“What?” He blinked a few times and his eyes cleared, deepening to the color of molten honey. “Oh, right, you’re…”

“Sam.” Sam offered, he thought about offering a hand but he was still chained up.

“Right, right, Sam. Hi, I’m Gabriel.”

“Hello.” Another rush of shivers swept over the dragon, Gabriel. “You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, getting a cold is a bit more literal for my kind. Oh, I’m the dragon by the way, here to snatch you away and all that.”

Sam nodded. “I gathered.” He considered the cuffs then went ahead and started working them open. Gabriel clearly wasn’t in any state to put up a fight.

“Yeah, gonna snatch you away. Just give me a second. I’m gonna--” He broke off to another string of coughing.

Sam finished with the cuffs, and rubbed his freed wrists while looking down at the creature he had been dreading for a good portion of his life, or at least the last several hours. He could just leave. Chances were that Gabriel wouldn’t even notice. Gabriel was a terrifying creature out of nightmares, Sam had every right to leave him there.

Even if he did look kind of helpless and miserable….

Okay, so the dragon didn’t so much terrorize the countryside as terrorize the livestock, and occasionally take baths in the lake, making it flood its banks, which always ruined the fishing for days afterwards. Sure the villagers paid tribute to the dragon, but now that he thought about it, he couldn’t actually remember him being anything more than just an inconvenience, since most of the sacrifices came back. Sure the elders told stories, but again, it didn’t match up with the image of the man now practically sitting in the fire.

Sam looked at the road back to the village, then down at Gabriel. “Look, I’m just going to….” He trailed off. Gabriel was now wracked by shivers and his eyes had glazed over again.

Sam sighed. Dragon or not he knew he couldn’t just leave the other man out here in the rain. He took off his own cloak and got Gabriel far enough from the fire to wrap it around him, carefully tucking his wings inside.

Gabriel’s skin was warm to the touch. Now that he was closer he could make out the tiny gold-green scales on the back of his arms and at his temples, down the curve of his neck. They were as smooth as river stones, and Gabriel leaned into the touch. Sam had to blink and shake his head, bringing himself back to reality.

“Great, now I’m taking care of a dragon.” He grumbled picking up the surprisingly light, smaller form and turning away from the village. The sacrifices who returned always said something about a cave in the hills where the dragon lived, and it wasn’t like he could take the creature back to his place.

“What are you even doing out here? If you’re as sick as you seem you should be in bed.” Sam grumbled. He didn’t really expect an answer, but he got one anyway.

“S’ritual day. Had to come get you.”

“Oh, so you thought it was a good idea to just waltz out into the rain?”

Whatever reply Gabriel gave was muffled by Sam’s chest.

The sky grumbled again. Without the fire and his cloak Sam was starting to shiver himself. “Hey, at least tell me where to take you.” That earned him another grumble and a vague hand wave in the direction he was already going. Sam sighed, hoisted Gabriel a little higher, and resigned himself to a miserable rest of the evening.

  


He did find the cave eventually, or rather, Gabriel woke up enough to point him in the right direction. The inside was actually kind of cozy. There were half a dozen rooms, or caverns, all of which were filled with glittering baubles, knick-knacks and oddities that Sam couldn’t guess the purpose or value of. Mixed in with the hoard though, was a human sized table, a collection of soft cushions that were large enough to serve as chairs or in a pincha bed, a kitchen with enough things Sam recognised that he could make use of it, a hearth large enough to roast a wild pig and the piece de resistance, a bathing room fed by a hot-spring that was large enough for even Gabriel’s more scaly form.

As soon as Sam stripped him and got him into the hot water Gabriel immediately stopped shivering and gave a moan of pleasure. Sam made sure he wasn’t going to drown then went to fix them both something to eat.

Sam wasn’t much of a cook, but Gabriel’s kitchen was fairly well stocked. Soup wasn’t terribly hard. Sam hung his cloak up by the fire, the took off his shirt so it could dry as well and halfway through he realized how insane this was.

He had been sacrificed to the local dragon. Then instead of running away when he had the chance, he had physically carried the dragon back to it’s cave when it was clearly weak and helpless. Then to top it all off he’s made him take a bath and was making him soup and planning on tucking him into bed.

Sam leaned against the mantle, staring into the flames and wondered what he was doing with his life.

The soup was starting to boil. Sam carefully took it off the heat, and had it half way back to the table when a loud splash echoed from the bathing room. A small wave washed over the stone floor.

Sam panicked, all he could think was he’d left Gabriel alone and he was really out of it, and now he’d probably fallen in and was drowning, and --

Sam skidded around the doorway, soup pot still in one hand. Gabriel was there, and not drowning which was good. He was also a dragon, which Sam had known, but now he was really a dragon. The water level had risen several feet in order to accommodate the gold and green and blue bulk of Gabriel’s true form. Currently he was all curled up, wings pulled in tight to his body, legs under him in an attempt to get as much of himself in the warm water as possible, but even a reserved estimate had him at forty or fifty feet long. Most of that was tail though… Sam tried to guess how tall he’d be given the size of the cavern and came up with eight or ten feet at the shoulder. His head was a triangle of teeth and scales and those same amazingly glowing eyes. It was also as long as Sam’s torso which became very apparent when Gabriel lifted it started nuzzling at his chest.

“Is that soup?” and now Gabriel was talking directly into his head. Sam really wished he knew how to get off this crazy ride.

Sam looked down. He tried very hard not to stare at the very large mouth full of very sharp teeth. Then he caught sight of his pants. Aparently in his haste to check on Gabriel he had sloshed a third of the soup down his front, ruining his best ( and currently only ) set of pants.

His legs immediately informed him that the soup had been very hot, and if he was no longer distracted he might want to pay attention to his new burns. Sam hissed in a sharp breath and tensed up, trying not to move his leg. Gabriel nosed at the pot in Sam’s hands and Sam shifted it a bit farther away from himself as the DRAGON lifted one clawed hand (paw? foot? tallon?) and took it. Gabriel swallowed the contents as if it was a shot of whiskey.

“Hmm, you’re not a bad cook. Everything I make turns out burnt.” Gabriel hummed, looking at Sam.

Sam tried not to move. He tried to remember every reason that the dragon wasn’t likely to eat him. He tried to remember that even if Gabriel did eat him, it was for the village, his family, friends. Mostly he just remembered that he’d hauled this creature at least ten miles through the rain and mud and cold, after being tied to a rock for several hours.

And his leg was really starting to hurt.

Gabriel frowned, and wow Sam had been having trouble reading his expression but as it turned out dragon faces could frown really well. It was more than a little terrifying.

Sam closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He startled when he felt the hand, the very human hand, touch his chest. His eyes flew open.

Gabriel had shifted back to his human form. He was looking better. His wings hung behind his shoulders like a cape, shimmering with water, his own personal backdrop casting rainbows across his skin. The hot water had turned his skin rosy shades of pink. Combined with the gold of his scales, he looked like a sunset. And he was naked except for a pair of white boxers which were soaked through, and therefore did absolutely nothing in the modesty department.

Sam suddenly had to focus on the ceiling and the pain from his burns because otherwise he was going to do something inappropriate in front of his host/captor.

Gabriel reached forward, and started taking off Sam’s belt. Sam panicked, tried to reach for Gabriel’s hands and dance away at the same time. The water still spreading over the stone floor made itself known, and Sam’s legs went out from under him. He landed on his ass and let out a cry of pain. Gabriel was immediately beside him, leaning over him, and Sam found himself lost for a moment in Gabriel’s eyes again.

“You okay?”

Sam forcefully pulled himself back to the present. “Yeah.”

“You sure?” Gabriel poked at the burn. Sam winced. “Yeah I thought so. Trust me, I know burns and that doesn’t look like a fun one.” Gabriel reached for Sam’s belt again and this time Sam froze in place. Gabriel pulled the fabric away enough to get a good look. “Well, you’ll live. Looks like your pants took care of the worst of it. You know, I’ve got some cream you could put on that.”

Sam knew he was blushing. There was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Or the tent in his boxers for that matter. He glanced up, and fuck. Gabriel was smiling, full of teeth and innuendo. He quirked one eyebrow.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sick?” Sam protested, and when had his voice gotten so breathy like that?

Gabriel’s frown returned, then it changed to consideration. He checked his forehead with the back of one hand, then took a few slow deep breaths. “Yeah okay, I’m feeling better but not one hundred percent. In retrospect, going out in the rain was kind of a terrible idea.” Gabriel turned away and started rummaging through a cabinet. He came back with a small jar of cream.

“Sit,” he ordered, and Sam boosted himself up onto the edge of the counter. “In my defence though, you were out there too. Why didn’t you go home when I didn’t show up?”

“Kind of a good thing I did wait or you’d still be out there.” Sam flinched at the first touch of the cream. It was as cold as ice and quickly sank into his skin. Gabriel waited a minute, presumably to let it work then wiped it away with a hand towel. The burns had healed in that short time, leaving tender pink skin in their place.

Gabriel winked at Sam’s astonished expression. “I know all about fire, and all the ways to treat it.” the dragon’s tone made the words sinful.  Sam hopped down and mumbled something that hopefully came across as a thank you.

Gabriel smirked and slipped back into the bathing pool, relaxing as his wings spread out over the surface. Gabriel waved for Sam to join him.

Sam considered his own position, pants around his knees, then decided to just go with it. He got his boots off, and left them and his pants in a corner before joining Gabriel in the water.

Okay, he’d tested the water before getting Gabriel settled but either he hadn’t realized how hot it actually was or Gabriel had increased the temperature somehow because wow that was hot. If he stayed in here for too long he was going to boil like a lobster. Gabriel laughed and Sam couldn’t help but smile back.

It actually felt really good once Sam got acclimated.

Eventually Gabriel climbed out, found a towel somewhere and snagged Sam’s arm as he started to follow. Gabriel shook out his wings then wrapped one around Sam. Before he even had a chance to get his hair dry Sam was being dragged into another cavern. Then Gabriel was a dragon again and Sam had apparently been conscripted as a teddy bear as Gabriel nestled into his hoard to sleep.

“Wait, Gabriel?”

Gabriel snuggled deeper into his hoard.

“Gabriel?”

The dragon opened one eye, then consented to grabbing Sam one of the pillows before pulling him close and going to sleep. With one overlarge arm wrapped around his waist and Gabriel’s tail acting as a blanket for the rest of him, Sam had to admit he didn’t have a very good chance of getting away. He really hoped Gabriel didn’t roll over and squish him in his sleep.

Aparently this was his life now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on this being anything more then it is, but now that it's out there i keep thinking of more scenes. No promises but if you want to see more, poke at me and more chapters may appear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sam is the sick one, and Gabriel is terrible at taking care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go you wonderful darlings. I had no idea this would get such a response, but I'm very glad it did. Chapter mostly un-beta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Sam woke up groggy. There was a crick in his back and his head was full of straw, stabbing and fluffy all at once. He was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, wearing absolutely nothing and there was something poking him in the arm. He was also shivering.

Sam pulled himself into a ball and started fumbling for where the blanket must have slipped off him during the night. Instead his hand found the thing that was stabbing him. He held it up. It was the beak of a wooden duck, well, actually it was a whole wooden duck, painted green and brown with it’s wings neatly folded, but the beak was what had been poking him.

Sam stared at the duck; the wooden painted eyes stared back. Slowly the previous day filtered back into his consciousness. He let the duck fall back onto the hoard and groaned. Next time he really needed to make sure they found an actual bed before they fell asleep. Sam’s brain was a bit slow to process that but when he finally realized, he brought his arms up to cover his face and moaned.

 

Gabriel leaned around the doorway to the bathing room. He was in his mostly human form, and there was a toothbrush sticking out of the side of his mouth.

“Morning Sammich! I’m feeling much better. What do you want for breakfast? I was thinking pancakes, do you want pancakes?”

Sam looked out around his arm. He shook his head. “No, I--” The rest of the sentence was overridden by a series of sneezes. By the time Sam could breathe he was back to shivering. He wrapped his arms around himself and sniffled.

“I think you gave me your cold.”

Gabriel took the toothbrush out of his mouth and looked down at it. “Oh ah, sorry?” Gabriel started fiddling with his toothbrush and his tail curled around one of his ankles. “Are you, I mean, do you need anything? A bath, or something?”

Sam sniffled again. “‘m cold. D’you have any blankets? Or a real bed? I’ll be okay if I get some rest.” He almost felt he should apologise. This was quite possibly the worst sacrifice situation ever, both for himself and Gabriel. On the plus side, if Gabriel did decide to eat him he wouldn’t have to deal with his stuffy nose anymore.

“Okay, yeah, I can do that. Umm, here.” Gabriel tossed his toothbrush behind him into the bathroom and hurried forward. His tail swept aside a pile of books and Sam winced. Then there was a crash as a pile of cups that had been stacked on some kind of game board fell to the ground, and Sam decided that it was Gabriel’s hoard, and he could do whatever he wanted with it.

Gabriel dragged several of the enormous pillows over to the clear space and fussed with them until Sam had to roll his eyes. When Sam tried to stand up the room spun for a moment, until Gabriel was at his side. Gabriel’s skin was warm, his scales felt like marbled glass. Sam had to focus not to pull the dragon closer, then Gabriel was laying him down in the soft new nest. Sam’s arms lingered around Gabriel’s neck.

Gabriel babbled through all of it, a stream of words that Sam didn’t really pay attention to. “Okay there you go. I’ll see if I can find you some blankets or something. I mean I’ve got to have some blankets around here somewhere, just because I don’t use them. Well, there was that one time, but trust me setting the bedding on fire is only fun in the metaphorical sense. I mean just because I’m immune to fire doesn’t mean my bed partner is. But trust me, not going to happen this time, I’ll be super careful. Just as soon as I find something. Hey would curtains work, I think I have curtains, oh wait, no those were like canvas or something, you need something soft. I’ll find something soft.” Gabriel pulled himself away and looked around, then turned and vanished through a doorway that Sam hadn’t explored the previous day. A minute later there was a crash and Gabriel’s voice filtered back in Sam’s direction.

“I meant to do that.”

Sam closed his eyes. His nose was starting to run. He wondered if Gabriel would have any tissues or if all the tissues would have gone the way of the blankets. Sam pulled one of the giant pillows closer until it was at least covering his lap area. Even if Gabriel was wearing pants this morning he was still very distracting.  If Sam had been feeling slightly better the whole situation would have been more than a little embarrassing.

Sam was pulled out of a light doze when he was smothered in fabric. He fought for a corner and air only to find Gabriel’s grinning face.

“See, I knew I’d find something. Can you believe this monstrosity was once the hight of paris fashion? of course that was about two hundred years ago. The women all looked like stuffed pigs. Of course all the guys were in tights, and let me tell you the tunics rode up quite a bit if you know what I mean.” Gabriel waggled his eyebrows.  

It took a moment for Sam to struggle into a sitting position. It was a dress, no, a full ballgown. Dark blue and purple velvet, more yards of fabric then Sam could have afforded with a years wages. There were ribbons of silk embroidered along the neck and sleeves with glittering thread that Sam was convinced was actual gold. In fashion or not the garment would have cost a small fortune, and Gabriel was offering it up as a sick-blanket.

“Gabriel, this is. I can’t, I’ll ruin it.”

The dragon waved a hand. “Hey don’t worry abou it. Nobody's wanted to wear that thing in ages, and it’s not like there aren’t plenty more in my hoard if that’s what you’re into.”

Sam ran a hand over the fabric, fingers tracing the pattern of stitching. Then he shook his head again. “I can’t, It’s too much.”

“Please?” Gabriel’s eyes had grown huge and they were shining again. “Please, Sam? It’s my fault for not having any blankets. I’m normally more prepared for sacrifice day but this year I forgot and then I got you sick….”

“Fine.” Sam spread the skirts out a bit more to cover his legs. He was about to close his eyes again when he realized Gabriel was still staring at him. This time his tail was flicking back and forth and his hands were twitching as if he was trying to hold them still and failing.

He noticed Sam's eyes and looked down at the floor. His wings unfurled then were pulled back in. “Is there anything else?”

It was the first time Gabriel had seemed hesitant. Sam had gotten the impression that Gabriel was never unsure of himself. Even when he’d been sick he’d been full of energy, always ready with a smart remark.

Sam really didn’t want anything. He wasn’t cold anymore, and he never got hungry when he was sick, but Gabriel just looked so hopeful.

“Some tissues maybe? or some water?”

Gabriel’s smile pinned itself back in place and he nodded vigorously. “Right, got it, be right back.” Then he was gone again.

Sam curled onto his side and pulled one of the drapey sleeves of the dress up to cover his neck.

 

***

 

Gabriel spent fifteen minutes searching for tissues before he found his stock of pocket handkerchiefs. They were kind of like tissues right? He’d just have to do the washing after this. He piled a bunch of them in a basket then headed for the kitchen.

Aparently he really needed to do the dishes as well. Gabriel eventually found a clean mug in the back of one cupboard and filled it with crystal cold water. Then he dumped it out at the thought that Sam might not want super cold water if he was already feeling cold. Then he wondered if Sam might want tea instead. Tea was good for sick people wasn’t it?

Gabriel pulled out his kettle,filled it and hung it on the fire. He refilled the mug, this time with room temperature water, and went to check on Sam.

Gabriel’s sacrifice had curled up with his hair flopped over his forehead and the velvet tucked in around him. Gabriel felt a warm glow in his chest. The possessive pride he always felt when looking at something that was his. A dark, selfish part of himself wanted to keep the young man, wanted to lock him up here in his cave and never let him go. That part of him was glad Sam had gotten sick.

It was going to suck when they finally got back to the whole sacrifice thing.

Gabriel put down the basket of handkerchiefs where Sam would see it when he woke up, then put the mug down next to it. He hesitated, wondering if he should tuck Sam in or something, and again cursed the lack of blankets. Next time he went shopping, he promised himself.

The kettle started to whistle, pulling him out of his thoughts. He hurried to take it off the fire, hoping the sound hadn’t woken Sam. It was probably a good thing that he only had the one kind of tea, otherwise he’d have probably spent even more time debating.

Gabriel tried to be patient while he was waiting for the tea to steep, he really did. Except then he got to thinking about how maybe Sam wasn’t comfortable. After all those pillows had been chosen to fit his dragon-sized self, they were probably lumpy to a human. Sam didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d complain about that kind of thing, especially not to his host who was a dragon on top of everything. If Sam wasn’t mentioning that, what else was he keeping to himself? Was he hungry after all? Sam had made sure he ate, shouldn’t he do the same?

Gabriel looked around his kitchen and determinedly rolled up his sleeves. He was going to make sure Sam had whatever he needed.

 

***

 

Sam had no idea how long he’d managed to sleep, but it didn’t feel that long. It was a smell that woke him. It took a minute for him to identify it.

He scrambled to sit up and throw the blanket-dress off him. Smoke. There was a layer of dark smoke rolling over the high-ceiling and crashing coming from the kitchen. Sam forced his brain into gear and mentally ordered the room to stop swaying. Adrenalin hit his system as he caught and clung to the doorway.

Where Was Gabriel?

The glitter of gold wings caught his eye and Sam lunged forward into the smoke.

“Huh? What the, Sam? I thought you were asleep. What are you -- Oof.”

Sam hoisted Gabriel up onto his shoulder, riding the adrenaline as he hauled them both back out of the kitchen. He paused briefly and looked around. Sam’s addled brain couldn’t remember the way to the exit.

“Hey Sam? Don’t get me wrong, I love the opportunity to ogle your ass, but I’m okay. You can put me down.” Gabriel grunted into Sam’s back. His wings unfurled to clear the smoke from around them. Then Sam swung them through a doorway and Gabriel wrapped his tail around Sam's chest.

They stumbled into the bathroom and then Sam lost his footing and they both tumbled into the bathing pool, sending warm water splashing everywhere.

“Okay this is familiar.” Gabriel spit out a mouthful of water, and stood up shaking off his wings. “Mind telling me what that was about? Oh, are you feeling any better?”

“I, ah…” Sam stood dripping in the lukewarm water. “You were on fire.”

“Dragon, Sam. I’m fine. I was trying to make you soup because, the muffins didn’t really work, and I ran out of bread for toast.”

“But, the kitchen and fire and…”

“Yeah I did mention I burn everything right?” Gabriel looked up at the ceiling where the smoke was creating a layer of grime. “I better go clean that up. You good?”

Sam nodded. If nothing else the water had fully woken him up. Gabriel climbed out of the pool. Sam watched him go then slowly followed. At least he didn’t have to deal with wet clothes since he hadn’t been sleeping in anything. He found a towel and bussied himself with it until Gabriel came back.

“So, I was going to make you food but I guess that idea’s out.” Gabriel ran a hand through his hair and ended up scratching the back of his neck.

Sam let the tension ease out of his shoulders. “You know what I really want?” Gabriel looked up hopefully. “Sleep. Come back to bed.”

Gabriel let Sam take him by the hand and lead him back to the main room. When the smoke lingered, he flapped his wings and cleared out the air a bit. They fell into the pillow nest together. Sam started to tug the dress up around them, then they both laughed. Gabriel pulled Sam close and wrapped a wing around them both.

Sam fell asleep with his head resting on Gabriel’s chest.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

Sam slept through most of that day and the next. Gabriel stayed with him through most of it. On the third day after Sam had been sacrificed they both woke up feeling a hundred times better. Gabriel declared they needed waffles to celebrate.

Which led them back to the ruined kitchen. Gabriel really had done a number on the place. There were mixing bowls and cookie sheets, scattered around covered in charred sugar and burnt flower. The kettle had boiled empty. There were scorch marks covering the whole wall around the oven, and it was lucky that most of Gabriel’s pots were cast iron.

“Oh, heheh, wow.” Gabriel scratched at the back of his neck. “I ah, didn’t realize it was that bad?”

Sam looked at Gabriel and raised an eyebrow. They started laughing at the same time. It was several minutes before either of them could speak again. Sam was half bent-over one hand supporting himself on the wall as he fought for breath. Gabriel scrubbed a hand over his eyes.

“Okay, yeah. In my defense I only use the kitchen when I have guests. My human form has it’s perks but.” Gabriel shrugged.

Sam had a sudden flash of Gabriel’s dragon self swooping down on a flock of helpless sheep. His laughter petered out.  Even with Gabriel’s wings and tail it was just too easy to forget that he was the dragon overlord for this section of the countryside. That Sam was there purely as a sacrifice.

Gabriel had started opening cupboards. “Looks like the dishes survived at least.”

Sam shook his head and pushed away the dark thoughts. “Guess we better get to work then.” He rolled up his sleeves. His pants were already ruined so it didn’t matter if he wore them to clean up.

“So have you got any rags or soup or anything?”

Gabriel looked around as if cleaning supplies would magically appear when he snapped his fingers. “I think so?”

Sam snorted. “Well, maybe we should go find them then.”

 

<><><>

 

“So what’s up Sammich?” Gabriel asked several hours later.

They had mostly worked in companionable silence. Occasionally Sam or Gabriel would ask for something or pause to drink a glass of water and look over what was left to do. Mostly Sam was fine with that but his realization from that morning kept intruding.

At one point they had stopped to make and eat a plate of sandwiches. He was briefly distracted by a story of Gabriel’s; something about one of his brothers, a swarm of sprites and a goat.

Once they had gotten back to work though, well. Here they were at the end of the day and even Gabriel had picked up on his unease.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine. I think I just need some air.”

“Sounds good to me, I could use an excuse to stretch my wings.”

Sam found himself looking down at his shoes. He’d spent the past three days entirely in Gabriel’s company, it shouldn’t be that hard to look him in the eye.

The worst part was, it wasn’t actually fear holding him back. Oh sure he was a little afraid, but the bigger part of him was a mixed up mess of longing, frustration, uncertainty and lust. He liked Gabriel. He liked how smooth Gabriel’s scales felt under his hands. How his eyes were never quite the same color. How Gabriel could make him laugh with just a well timed quirk of his eyebrows.

Everything Sam knew said that their time together should have already ended. Even if Sam wasn’t going to end up dead, And he wasn’t altogether certain of that, this was borrowed time. If he was allowed to go home, then he’d never see Gabriel again, beyond a shape in the sky. He’d have to move on with his life, knowing that this amazing person was living out here a day’s ride away.

It was sunset outside Gabriel’s caves. The sky was painted in blues and reds. Sam sat down on a large rock not far from the entrance to Gabriel’s home. The stone was sun-warmed and Sam kicked off his boots so he could trail his feet through the short grass.

Gabriel shifted to his dragon form and sprawled out on the ground, all glittering scales and lithe muscle. He unfurled his wings and the skin between the tines caught the evening air like sails, billowing until Gabriel flexed and the wind escaped again.

Sam watched the sky slowly darken until he realised that the end of Gabriel’s tail was creeping up around his ankle. There was nothing for it. He sighed.

“So what now?”

“What do you mean?” Gabriel turned his head and flicked one of his ears like a cat.

Sam didn’t want to have to say it, but he couldn’t just put it off and live in denial. No matter how attractive that option was starting to look.

“What are you going to do with me?”

Gabriel seemed to shrink in on himself. He didn’t change shape, he just pulled his wings in tight and pulled his tail back to curve over his nose. When his voice finally did ring through Sam’s mind it was sullen and rumbled lower than anything else Sam had yet heard.

“What do you mean?”

Sam was silent for a long minute. Finally he asked, “What happens to the sacrifices?”

Gabriel grumbled from under his tail, sending out a cloud of black smoke. He shuffled his wings on his back, then dug his claws into the earth. Eventually he seemed to slump, and a moment later he was back in his mostly human form. He buried his head under his arms, let out one last, puff of breath and pushed himself up until he was sitting on the ground beside Sam’s rock.

“I was really hoping I had more time.” Gabriel looked out at the sky. “Do you know about the treaty I have with your village?”

Sam shrugged. He didn’t know the details, but he certainly knew the outcome.

“There are many dangerous and terrible creatures in this world. By claiming this land I discourage others from attacking, lest they face my wrath. But it’s also a mark of status, especially among my kind. If the land and people I watch over are not prosperous it reflects badly. I’m more lax than most but I must still show that the people respect me.

“Plus there are those that do not deserve my protection.”

Sam had to swallow around the lump in his throat. “The people who don’t return?”

“Four years ago I was offered a man who had all the appearances of civility, until he was behind closed doors. He had the habit of beating his girl. I let him feel the beating by dropping him down the quarry and letting the trolls finish off what was left. The next season it was his girl they sent to me. She was broken. I took her mind. She’s now living as a seamstress in a little town by the sea, with no memory of who she was. After that it was a man who was stealing from his work. I was busy that day so I just ate him. The next was a Samandriel if I remember right. He was a good one, wanted to see the world. I gave him a bag of gold and flew him down the river. He boarded a ship, off to seek his fortune. Since then it’s just been kids who are doing their best and want to go home, until you.”

“Those who are cruel and perverted I punish, those who are good have nothing to fear from me. So, Sam, what’s your secret?”

Sam found that he couldn’t look away from Gabriel’s glowing honey-gold eyes. His heart sank and his stomach tied itself into knots, because Gabriel was right. He did have a secret.

“I, umm, I” Sam had to clear his throat and finally managed to tear his eyes away as he mumbled, “Ilikeguys.”

Sam’s cheeks flamed red. He knew that if he ever admitted anything like that in front of anyone in town he’d be either laughed out of town or chased out with pitchforks and stones. That kind of thing, it wasn’t done. Dean might have believed him. He and Cas were close and Sam had always suspected there was more to it, but that was just it. Sam saw every day how people treated Cas and Dean, the distrusting looks, and gestures against evil. It had been that way ever since Cas had stumbled into town clutching a child, when Sam was nine.

Gabriel’s laughter broke sam out of his dark thoughts.

“Sam, I’ve known that since you carried me back here. Or hadn’t you noticed that I’ve been trying to get you into bed for the past few days.”

“But…”

Gabriel sat up and took one of Sam’s hands in his. “What? It’s not normal? Anyone who’s been putting thoughts like that into your head is wrong.” Sam bit his lip but managed to meet Gabriel’s eyes through his lashes. “I can look into your soul, and do you know what I see?” Sam shook his head. “It shines.”

Sam didn’t know what prompted it, courage or just the thought that he’d never get another chance. He leaned forward, hands tangling in Gabriel’s shirt, and suddenly they were kissing. It was awkward, their teeth clicked together, before Gabriel tilted his head. Then the dragon was clawing his way up onto Sam’s lap, and Sam couldn’t think of anywhere he would rather be.

“You know.” Gabriel growled into his ear. “Now that I think about it that’s actually a pretty serious offence. I might just have to keep you around until I can think of a suitable punishment.”

Gabriel nuzzled into the crease of his jaw and Sam barely managed to gasp out. “Oh really?” Before his lips were claimed again.

“Yes, that’s a tricky one. It might take quite a while, but I’m sure we can find some way to pass the time.”

Sam managed to pull back, and met Gabriel’s eyes. “Really? You want me to stay, just like that?”

“Well yeah, I mean, I won’t stop you if you want to leave but, Yeah. I want you to stay.”

Sam knew he was probably blushing and there might have been tears running down his cheeks, but he laughed through them, and bent his head to kiss Gabriel again. “oh, I’m definitely staying.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the last chapter this chapter is mostly the fault of Aria and her Sabriel fluff fridays, which can be found on tumblr [Here](http://sabrielflufffriday.tumblr.com/) or on Aria's blog [Here](http://aria-lerendeair.tumblr.com/).
> 
> The other piece of news is that I've given in and turned this into a series. There are two reasons for this: first the rating looks like it'll be changing but I wanted to keep this story were it was. Second, this is not the main story I'm working on and I have no idea when I'll be updating so I wanted to call this done for now.
> 
> There will be more, I just don't know when.


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